My friend Allen is in South America, but when he gets back I'd like to get him to put the bell in his lathe, and clean up the face. I also want to cut down the bottom section, and see if it will work as a dog bowl. Watch this space.
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I go diving sometimes with Mark and Christine, and when Mark mentioned that one
of his aluminum 100 tanks had been condemned I asked if I could have it. I
had heard that if you cut the top section off a gas tank it will make a good
bell. That's mostly true for steel tanks, but I thought I'd try it with an
aluminum one.
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I figure the trusty Harbor Freight chop saw should be able to get through
aluminum. Always wear your safety gear.
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I wasn't sure how I was going to hang the bell, but a little google'ing turned
up the fact that most tanks use a 3/4" NPS thread, so I found this 3/4" to
1/4" reducer at Home Depot. I figured I could screw a lifting eye into it.
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I had to remove the vise from the chop saw, and I cut a piece of 2x4 to act as
a guide for the tank, but it looked like it would fit in there.
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I just arbitrarily picked a line to cut on. I wanted to make sure the bell
portion would be long enough. I figured I could always cut it down.
The chop saw worked okay for a while. There was a lot of noise and vibration,
but it cut most of the way around the tank. Then there was a lot of smoke
and no noise. There was only 4" left of circumference to cut, but the saw was
done. It took me three years, but I killed it. That was it for the day.
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Next day I went to Harbor Freight. They had the same saw, that I paid $79 for
three years ago, on sale for $49. What a country. I unpacked the new saw
and unleashed it on the tank. It finished it off pretty quickly. And I had
a dandy new bowl. I think it might make a good dog dish if I cut it down a
couple inches.
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Unfortunately my new bell didn't sound very bell-like. It mostly sounded
like banging on a scuba tank. But the bottom piece sounded better. So I
cut the top piece down to 12". It went faster now that I had the hang of it.
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Okay, that sounded better. It still has the high, pinging noise of a scuba
tank, but it's much clearer now. I need to get a screw eye to go in the
adapter I have threaded in there now. Then I can hang the bell. I also need
another adapter the thread into the bottom of the valve opening, inside the
tank. I can put a screw eye into that, and hang a clapper from it.
My friend Allen is in South America, but when he gets back I'd like to get him to put the bell in his lathe, and clean up the face. I also want to cut down the bottom section, and see if it will work as a dog bowl. Watch this space. |
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